Automatic cut-off valve



Nov. 1, 1932. E. J. HORTON AUTOMATIC CUT-OFF VALVE Filed Feb. 17, 1952IN VEN TOR W MQ W 14 1 ATTORNEYS Patented Novel, 1932 mam ERNEST J.HORTON, or PITTSBURGH, rnmvsvnvnma, ASSIGNQB. To noun MANUFAC- TURINGCOMPANY, A CORPORATION or NEW JERSEY AUTomA ro our-err vim Applicationfiled. February 17, 1932. Serial No. 593,469;

This invention relates to valves, and more particularly to automaticcut-off valves, such as are adapted for use with fuels eitherin gas orliquid form. 1- v a An objeot'of this invention is the provision of anautomatic cut-off valve arrangement, such as may be applied to mainandauxiliary burners, (for'example, a main' burner and a pilot burner) thatshall be simple in construction, easily manufactured, efficient andpositive in operation.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an automaticcut-"ofi valve arrangement for'controlling a main burner and anauxiliary burner, whereby upon the opening of a valve controlling theauxiliaryburner and the lighting thereof, another valve controlling themain :burner is automatically opened and thereafter both valves placedunder automatic cohtrol so that upon failure of-the fuel supply .or uponthe extinguish ment of the pilot burner, or both, for any reason, bothvalves' will be closed automatically. i 7

A further object of the invention is the provision of a multiple valvecontrol whereby one-valve may be manually opened and latched in suchposition, and subsequently another valve opened'by means,'of athermostatic device, the construction of the multiple valve controlbeing such that when the thermostatic device has operated, all of thevalves are placed under the control thereof.

Other objects of the invention will, in part,

vbeapparent and will, in part, be obvious from the following descriptiontaken in 'conjunc tion with the accompanying drawing in which; 7 p r MFigure 1 is a view partially in section and partially in side elevationof an automatic cut-'ofl'valve, as applied to a pilot or auxiliaryburner and a main burner, the latter being illustrated by dot and dashlines;

Fig, 2is an endview of the cut-ofi valve; 1 Fig. 3 is a view insectionof a portion of the valve shown in Figs; 1 and 2 taken on linesHI-III thereof; and Figs, 4 and 5 are views in front and side elevation,respectively, of a valve actuating and latching device embodied inshown'in Figs. 1 and 2-.

the valve Throughout the drawing and the specifi cation like referencecharacters indicate like parts. i

In Fig. 1 of the drawing,a main burner 1 is shown to which ,fuel, suchas gas, is sup-v pliedfrom a supply line'2; The particular type ofburner illustrated, is designed to operate either in the so-calledautomatic hot water heaters in which the supply of gas is i turned onand off at the main burner auto matically as the flow of water from suchheatare is turned on and off in accordance with the demand for hotwater; or in the storage type of heater where the gas to themain burneris turned on and ofi in accordance iliary burner 3 is provided. Burner3is mounted on-the main burner as shownand is suppliedwith fuel or gasfrom an auxiliary k or branch line 5 which, it will be understood isconnected to the main fuel supply line at a point ahead of the valvemechanism (not shown) which turns on or shuts OK the gas to the mainburner. in accordance with the de- .mand for hot water, or in accordancewith water temperature.

iliary burner 3-is burning at all times. Oc- "casionally, however,unexpected conditions arise whi h cause, the flame at the pilot orauxiliary burner 'to be extinguished. In

' Under normal conditions, the pilot or aux sucha case, gas would escapethrough the main burner, as Wellas the auxiliary burner or p lot l ght,unless provision were made to pilot burner is burning, andto provide forpositively shutting off the flow of gas thereautomatically andpositivelyshut off the gas to in case the pilot or auxiliary burner is Iextinguished a multiple valve 6 and a thermostatic device 7 areprovided. The multiple valve controls the flow of gas to burners I land3 and is under the control of the ther- 2 and an outlet 12 which isconnected to the mixing chamber 13 of the main burner 1, the port 9being interposed between the inlet and outlet of the valve body. Poppetvalve 10,

' as shown, is normally urged towards its closed position by means of acoil spring 14;.

Valve body 8'carries a bonnet or cap 15 which serves asthe body forthevalve which is utilized to control the flow of gas to pilot orauxiliary burner3. As shown, the cap or bonnet has a flange 16 adaptedto seat on the valve body. In order to provide a gastight joint betweenvalve body 8 and cap or bonnet 15, a washer or gasket 17 of suitableform and composition is interposed therebetween. The bonnet or cap maybe positive- *ly and rigidly secured to valve body 8 by .means of screws18-(see Fig. 2).

Bonnet or cap 15Yis provided with an inlet port 20 to which branch line5 is connecteg, and an out- 6 tion with the interior .bore, thereof. As

let port 21 which is connected ire'ctly to the pilot light-as shown. Toprovide for the flow of gas from the inlet port 20 to the outlet port21, passageways 22 and 23 are drilled in the body 15 so as to providecommunicashown, a seat 24 :-is formed in bonnet or cap 15 which-isinterposed between the passages 22 and 23 so that the flow of gastherethrough.

, may be closed or shut off by means of a valve 25. Valve 25, as shown,is of cup shape, open at one end and closed at the other. The

closed end is shaped to conform to the seat 24 so that when the valve isseated the flow of gas will be positively shut off.

* Valve 25 includes a plug 26 and a stem 27,

. the stem extending through the plug. The

lug is threaded into the cup shaped memer, as shown, and when in placeclamps a head28 of the stem between-the bottom of the cup shaped memberand the adjacent end of the plug 26.

The valve bonnet or cap 15 is threaded at its upper end to receive aplug .29 which is drilled to accommodate the stem 27. The plug 29 isprovided with a gland 30 in which packing may be disposed, the packingbeing retained in its proper-position by means of a,

gland nut 31 which is threaded into the plug.

In order that valve 25 may be urged towards its closed position, acompression spring 32 disposed about the valve stem 27 and between valve25 and plug29, is .provided'. To provide for manually' opening valve 25,so that gas maybe delivered to the pilot light, when it is desired, tolight, the same, means are provided for raising the valve off its seatand latching the same in its open position. The means illustratedcomprises a member 33 having aslot 34: therein through which valve stem27 extends. As shown, the upper portion of member 33 is relatively thinand the lower portion relatively thick, the thin and thick portionsbeing connected b an inclined surface 35 which acts as a we ge. Thelower end of the member. 33, as viewed in Fig. .1, is provided with aknob that serves as a thumbhold for convenience in opening valve 25. Asshown in Fig. 1, the outer end of stem 27 is provided with a nut 36having an annular flange 37 disposed adjacent to the working surface ofmember 33.

When member 33 is moved upwardly, as

viewed from F ig. 1, the inclined surface 35 i on member 33 acting as awedge, moves stem 27 outwardly, that is to the'right as viewed from Fig.1, and raises the valve 25 from its seat. When member 33 is pushedupwardly as far as it will go, the flanged nut- 36 rests onsurface 38thereof. Since coil spring 32 is urging valve 25towards its closedposition, there will be sufiicient friction between the flanged nut 36and member 33 to hold the latter inthe position in-which the'lvalve willbe held open. The gas or fuel is now flowing to the pilot burner 3so'that it may be lighted. a

'When-thepilot burner has been buring for a predetermined length oftime, thermostatic device 7, which is responsive to the heat developedby the flame" of the pilot burner, comes into action and opens thepoppet valve 10 which controls the fiow of gas to the main burner 1. Aswill be explained subsequently herein, means, are provided whereby whenpoppet valve 10 has opened a predetermined 3 that, in case thepilotburner is extinguished,

or the fuel supply fails for some reason or other, both valves will bepositively closed,

thereby preventing the escape of gas from the- *burners. It is,therefore, necessary in case the pilot burner'goe's out to repeat theabove described operations before'the pilot burner can be relighted.

Thermostatic device 7comprises a curvedv bimetallic strip 40 which isdisposed inthe distance, poppet valve 25 controlling the flow of gas tothe pilot burner 1 will be opened path of the plane of-the pilot burner.'-As shown, the bimetallicstrip is anchored at one end to a support 41,which is threaded on one end of a tubular member 42. Tubular member 42issthreaded intoa boss 43 formed as an i rod engages the poppet valve10. When the thermostatic orbimetallic-member-has been i so that in theactionof the thermostatic device, nuts threaded on the end of the rodengaged 45 are by the-bimetallic member'40. The'biinetallic 49 which areadapted to suitable texture; Thelubricant contained in member may bearon a cone-shaped member 46. Thus by turning the nuts towards the end ofthe rod or towards the support 41, the temperature at which thebimetallic member becomes effective to open valve 10 maybe adjusted orregulated] to some predetermined value.

In order to maintain rod 44-in alinement within the tubular member 42'and also to provide a means for sealing ofi the flow of gas from valvebody 8 into the tubular member, a bushing 47 is provided. The bushingembraces rod 44 and is disposed within the end of the tubular-member 42that engages the valve body. Packing of any suitable form or compositionmay be disposed at the V end of the tubular member,

a pocket or cavity 48 being-provided in boss 43for this purpose. Tofurther provide against leakage of gas from the valve body into thetubular member, rod 44 is provided with aplurality of grooves containlubricant of these grooves acts as a seal against the flow of gas alongthe rod.

' Poppet valve 10 comprises abody portion 51 having a flanged rim 52 forreceiving a disc 530i leather or other suitable material.

Disc 53 seats on thevalve seat of the valve body to close the port 9,when the valve is in the position shown in Figure 1. lhe disc 53 may beheld in place by means of a washer 54 which is clamped in position bymeans of athreaded bushing-55 threaded into the body 51. As shown in thedrawing, the end of rod 44 that engages. body 5-1\-of valve 10 istaperedfto a point sothat positive engagement between the end of the rodand the end of the valve may beaassured. N

. In order that member 33'may be released to the position shown in Fig.1, when valve 10 y is opened, so that both valves 10 and 25 may beplaced under the control of the thermostatic device 7 valve 25 isprovided with a stem 56 which extends through the base. of

,7 the bonnet or cap 15 and terminates short of the valve body 5l ofpoppet valve 10.- The portion of the bonnet or cap 15 extending intovalve body 8 is tapped to accommodate a stufling nut 57 throughwhich"stem 56 passes. Stufiing is interposed between nut 57 and thetappedcavity in bonnetor cap 15 to prevent the flow of gas from thevalve body into the ing the rod 44 to the right and opening valve 10.Further travel of rod 44 causes body -51 of valve 10 to engage the endof stem 56 land move valve 25 to the right until member 33 isreleased tothe position shown in.

full lines in Fig. 1. Valves 10 and 25 are now under the control o fvthebimetallic member so that in case the. pilot flame goes out both valveswill be closed by the springs associated therewith when the bimetallicmember has cooled and assumed the position indi-\ cated in Fig. 1. v v

To relight the pilot'light, member 33 is pushed upwardly to the positionindicated in broken lines in which its position is held between theflangednut 36 and the stuffing l nut 31. Member 33 thus acts as a latchto hold the pilot valve open so that it is not necessary for the'operator'to manuallyhold the pilot valve open until the maiii burnervber. lhus the multiple valve embodies a manually operable valve whichmay be man; ually opened and heldin its open position by means of alatch and a mainburner valve which'is actuated by a thermostatic deviceenergized by the heat developed by the pilot burner. The arrangement ofthe valve and the thermostatic device is 'suchthat when the main burnervalve has been opened to a predetermined able pilot valve is unlatched*(that is, the latch is released .to that position in which the valvemay be returned to its closed position when the main burner valve isclosed), whereby both 'valves are placed under thermostatic control,that is, under the control of thermostatic device 7.

It will be apparent that by the form of construction of the valve, thepilot light may be lighted before the gas or fuel is turned on to themain burner, thusavoiding'possible danger of explosions which mightoccur should the gas be turned on to the mainv burner at the same timethatQit isturned oh to the pilot burner." I a Thus the pilot burner,valve may be actuated to its open position independently ot the mainburner valveand it may be held in such open position by amechanicalflatch pilot valve; the moment that the main burner valve hasopenedto a predetermined position.

ile various modifications and changes may be made infthe device hereindisclosed which is automatically tripped free of the valve has beenopened by the bimetallic mem-.

cal

position, the manually 6 erwithout depart'rng from the spirit or thescope of the invention, it 'is to be understood that onlysuchlimitations shall be placed on the invention as are imposed by the priorart and the appended claims. What I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. In combination with a pilot burner and a main burner, of a valvedisposed to control the flow of fuel. to the pilot burner, a valvedisposed to control the flow of fuel to the main burner, means formanually opening said pilot burner valve and holding said the flow offuel to the pilot burner, a valve disposed to control the flow of fuelto the main burner, means for manually opening said pilot burnervalveand holding the same open, and means responsive to the heatdeveloped by said pilot burner for opening the main burner valve,releasing the pilot burnor valve holding means and holdin both of saidvalves open while the pilot urner is; burning, said heat responsivemeans being arranged to close both of said valves in response to theeXt-inguishment of said pilot burner, I

3. The combination with a source of supply of fuel, a pilot burner and amain burner, ota valve disposed to control the flow of fuel'to the mainburner,'a; valve disposed to controlthe flow of gas from-said" source tosaidpilot burner, means-for manually openmeans.

ing said pilot burner valve including a latch for holding said valveopen, and meansresponsive to the heat developed by said pilot burner foropening said main burner, releasin said latch and placing both of saidvalves un der the control of said heat responsive 4., In combination, a"pilot burner, a main burner, a valve for controlling the flow of fueler valve, and means coacting with said main burner and pilot burnervalves arranged to release said holding means and place both of saidvalves under the control of said heat responsive means. I p

6; The combination .with a pilot burner, a main burner, and a source ofsupply of fuel for said burner,'of a valve, for controlling the flow offuel to said pilot burner, a valve for controlling the flow of fuel tosaid main increase the opening of said piloti burner I valve inresponseto the opening of said main burner valve for releasing saidpilot valve holding means and placingboth of said valves under thecontrol oi said heat. responv sive means.

Intestimony whereof, I have hereunto'sub scribed my name this 16th dayof February, 1932.

from a source of supply to the -pilot burner, a valve for controllingthe flow of fuelfrom said source to'the main burner, means for holdingsaid pilotvalve open, andmeans responsive to the heat'developed by thepilot burner for opening saidmain burner valve,

said'heat responsive means, after the main burner valve has been opened,being operable to cause both valves to closein case the flame at thepilot burner becomes extinguished 5. Incombinatiomla pilot burner, amain burner, -a valve for controlling the flow of fuelfrom a source ofsupply to the pilot burner, a valve for controlling the flow of fuelfrom said source to the main burner, means for holding said pilot valveopen,

the pilot burner-for opening said main burnmeans responsive to the heatdeveloped by I ERNEST J. HORTON.

